It’s no surprise that revivals lead to positive cycles.
According to Su Yonglin's understanding, the current political situation in the Ming Empire is not nervous for the Renaissance.
One hundred and fifty-two Fuxing counties can openly and legitimately promote the new ideas of the Fuxing Association and organize farmers to engage in new production movements.
The Fuxing Association can do this in the new rural areas, and other rural institutions scattered in counties that are not part of Fuxing County can actually do the same.
When Su Yonglin divided the country's administrative regions, he tried his best to create bias.
He continued to divide areas with many secondary peasant associations in villages and towns together to build a complete Fuxing County to increase the number of people and land that the Fuxing Association could directly control, and compete with the traditional gentry for land and population.
However, some villages are relatively remote and irregularly distributed, and Su Yonglin cannot forcefully change the administrative divisions.
One hundred and fifty-two Fuxing counties have become his current base, and this is three-quarters of the current Fuxing Association’s trump card.
The countryside scattered outside also accounts for a quarter of the total volume, and is still very important and cannot be ignored.
Speaking of which, since Su Yonglin founded the General Affairs Bureau to lead the Central Plains, the boundaries of power between the Renaissance Society and the old bureaucrats and the old gentry have not been so clear. In some areas, there is even a situation where you are among me and you are among you.
Fuxing County is of course clear, but in addition to Fuxing County, there are some new rural areas and rural peasant associations that are not located in Fuxing County.
The new rural areas and rural peasant associations that exist in the administrative jurisdictions where the old gentry and old bureaucrats serve as administrative officials are a quite special existence.
In the early days, these villages that were closely related to Su Yonglin were regarded as the source of rebellion, and were feared and guarded by these officials and local gentry, for fear that the rebellious mob would vent their anger on them.
After Su Yonglin's power expanded, these people were also included in the Liberation Army regime and became allies in a sense with the power of the Renaissance Society. Then there was no longer hostility towards these places, but vigilance and fear still existed.
They also knew a little bit about what happened in these villages. They also knew about the public trials and executions of Jurchen landowners or Han landowners who originally held power because they resisted the Liberation Army.
Su Yonglin only later learned that in the eyes of these local officials, these new rural areas and rural peasant associations were actually bound to the Liberation Army at that time and the Ming Army now.
Because the earliest Liberation Army under Su Yonglin came from the countryside, and Su Yonglin's soldiers were all peasant soldiers, local officials knew that Su Yonglin divided the fields among the gold diggers and granted land to the families of these peasant soldiers.
They also know that a considerable number of these farmers are so-called [military dependents], who have certain preferential treatment in many policies such as taxation, and have a deep relationship with the military.
At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the army was extremely powerful. Local officials did not dare to interfere in matters related to the army, let alone make trouble with military families, so they unconsciously ignored them.
Therefore, in addition to revitalizing the new rural areas and rural peasant associations in the county, these new rural areas and rural peasant associations within the traditional sphere of influence are actually in a subtle state of autonomy, which is different from the farms under the control of the traditional gentry. Actually, it's pretty much the same.
In addition to paying taxes to the county on time, these places are accepting orders from the Central Committee of the Renaissance and do not listen to the county government.
The county government does not know that these villages are actually controlled by the Renaissance. It only treats them as autonomous organizations similar to those controlled by big landowners. It will not ask for trouble by sending people to these places to harass the villagers. It usually treats them as if they do not exist. , just send someone to get the money when it's time to collect it.
They won't pay any less tax anyway.
This actually reduces the administrative burden and administrative risks of the county government.
In the traditional administrative field, the government's management of urban residents is relatively detailed, and most of it is direct management.
Take the Song Dynasty as an example. The urbanization rate in the Song Dynasty was actually very high, about 20%. The number of urban residents was so large that separate household registrations and special taxes were set up.
In Kaifeng City in the Northern Song Dynasty, in order to directly manage and collect taxes from these urban residents, the Song people even created tax models such as the "Bridgehead Tax", which can be described as refined management.
However, leaving the political center, leaving the city, and entering the vast countryside, the government's control over the countryside is relatively rough.
Because finances were really tight, it was necessary to arrange more official positions to extend official power into the countryside. This was another huge expense for raising officials, and the court was unwilling to bear this cost.
So we might as well stop at the county level.
Except for some county officials who are more conscientious and dedicated to their work, most county officials have particularly close ties with the people under their jurisdiction only in terms of taxation. At other times, the people really don't want to see people from the government hanging out with them.
Generally speaking, they are responsible for managing the land and tenants controlled by large, medium and small landowners, and then send people to contact the large, medium and small landowners to indirectly manage the land and population through them, and collect taxes through them.
Naturally, the possible amount of this part of the tax is less certain.
Moreover, in the face of such large, medium and small landowners who have certain power, the government will be relatively polite because there is a certain possibility of interest exchanges.
Agricultural areas without landowners of a certain size are self-cultivated areas. In these areas, the county government basically sends people directly to the countryside to collect taxes. The method is relatively crude, and the number of tax collections is hard to say. If there is any problem with local finance, the first to be unlucky is It's them too.
So don’t think that it is a good thing for the government to manage it personally.
Some squires may also know that they cannot kill the hens that lay eggs. After taking the eggs, they know how to spread some rice to appease the cooing hens, so as to maintain a sustainable state of fishing from the lake, while the petty officials in official uniforms Don't care about this at all.
In order to complete the above tasks, it is not uncommon to collect taxes again and again. By the way, you can also make a fortune by doing things for the above, so killing the goose and laying out the eggs is simply a human pleasure for them.
They don't care about sustainability.
What needs to be made clear is that although imperial power does not go to the countryside, the ruling power of the imperial county is definitely not weak, and it is definitely not a local rubber stamp.
A county magistrate seems to have a low status, low rank, and little power in his hands. He is easily bullied by local gentry. In fact, this is not the case. In fact, county magistrates who destroy their families and families do exist.
Su Yonglin had seen this kind of thing a lot in the Southern Song Dynasty. He had seen with his own eyes how some county magistrates who were rough and had strong personalities governed the place.
It was said that imperial rule did not go to the countryside, but in fact it just meant that the imperial court was unwilling to formally establish the positions of officials and pay them money, and wanted to save the cost of raising officials. However, as one of the few true [officials] in a county 】, the power of the county magistrate is not much at all.
They have power, a reputation, and many people who are willing to do things for them. They can easily gather 300 to 500 thugs to go to the countryside to suppress and force the tax-resisting people, and the methods are quite harsh.
Su Yonglin even heard that some county magistrates can use thousands of people to do things for him, and there is nothing he can't do in the entire county.
Some landowners who were short-sighted thought they were very powerful in the local area and dared to tease the county magistrate. As a result, the county magistrate repeatedly imposed taxes. They tried every means to find trouble to collect money and used their power to create obstacles. Within two years, they were forced to collect taxes. The tormented family was destroyed.
Once the county magistrate goes crazy, as long as you are not a figure in the system, you can destroy your family and destroy your family in a matter of seconds. In a county, except for some forces with people behind it, no one can truly compete with the authority of the county magistrate.
They sit in the county government office and represent the imperial power of the empire. The life and death of a person or a family can be decided by the words they speak.
But this also comes with certain risks.
It doesn't matter if these county magistrates usually show off their authority, but if they lose their "degree", they will really drive people into panic. They will rebel and rush into the county government in a matter of minutes. Often the first person to be unlucky is the county magistrate.
Therefore, the county magistrate who destroyed his family is not completely without risk.
Now these farmers' associations will manage the farmers themselves, be responsible for production, and proactively provide tax revenue to the county government. Although it makes the county government feel inexplicably deprived of power, it is not a bad thing anyway.
Therefore, in their eyes, these "autonomous villages" that have long existed within the county are entities that cannot be messed with.
These peasant associations that existed during the war and the founding of the country were directly related to Su Yonglin and the Ming army. They were openly and directly attributed to Su Yonglin. They were regarded by local officials as taboos of the emperor and the army and did not dare to touch them.
However, this does not mean that these peasant associations can continue to expand into the areas of the government and traditional gentry.
